Wild Beasts

Wild Beasts are gleaming and sparkling with the most intense of 1980s and 1990s electronic sound rethought and retooled with exquisite detail for the 21st century, and the band doesn't sound like any boys-with-guitars band you've ever heard. Their latest album, Present Tense, is a refreshing triumph. The Beasts have changed and the addition of synthesisers has given them a grace and grandeur reminiscent of Talk Talk. The quirky edges remain, but in different guises: the sub bass that shakes the building; Thorpe's use of his heavenly falsetto to deliver uncompromising lyrics. Present Tense shows that their confidence has grown to match their ambition, and it is plainly their best album yet.